PARAMOUNT THEME PARK
• Ian

PARAMOUNT THEME PARK COULD OPEN EARLY

The future is looking brighter for investors, residents and visitors to the south east corner of Spain, after a statement issued by the regional government of Murcia indicated that the much anticipated Paramount Theme Park could be completed a year ahead of schedule and that work might begin within six months.

Some residents of places like Camposol and Polaris World resorts have faced many years of disappointment in their investment properties, however these investments may well soon prove fruitful. With the anticipated opening of the theme park coinciding with the high speed AVE train between Madrid and Murcia, as well as the new regional airport at Corvera, located just 20 minutes from the development site of the park and with excellent link roads already starting to take shape, this area is about to explode onto the map of Spain.

Chris Mercer of Murcia-based agent Mercers commented, “The airport’s initial capacity for three million passengers a year, including many who currently use Alicante, was said to be key to securing the flagship project.

Murcia International Airport will also become the first airport in Spain to be crossed by a high-speed rail link (AVE) and the third, after Barcelona and Madrid, to have a rail link at all – further opening up domestic and international traffic to the Paramount Theme Park. Before long a European spotlight will fall on this area and our property sales to those keen to cash in on future lucrative rental opportunities are already rising.”

The main infrastructure of the theme park is estimated to cost around €300 million, with additional investment in the region of a billion euro expected for the building of hotels, shops and retail facilities, which will be completed in stages and be part funded by private enterprise.

The complex will be built on 108 acres of land of which 37 acres will be dedicated to the theme park itself. This theme park will become the biggest in Europe, attracting around five million visitors per year, 50% more than Spain’s current largest theme park, Porta Ventura. As previously reported by the Leader, the site will also have cinematographic studios, which will be the centre of all Paramount’s productions in Europe.

Theme parks are still very popular in Spain, although they are not without their own problems. Terra Mitica opened for the 2011 season with a new management team and a plan to turn around its previous financial difficulties, partly by selling land and creating a more compact and ‘family friendly’ facility. The Warner Brothers Park in Madrid is still as popular as ever, never failing to please the millions of people who have visited that attraction since the doors opened for the first time in 2002. There are also plans in place for expansion, which it is hoped will be completed by 2015.

Spanish property prices in general are still in decline, but this news is expected to provide a boost in investment from those looking to buy a home in an up and coming area and those looking for potential rental income, as well as large corporate investors and banks, thus kick starting a much needed rise in interest and funding.